Five One Labs Celebrates Success of Inn-Pact Week, Catalyzing Migrant Entrepreneurship in Colombia
This powerful event brought together global investors and Venezuelan migrant entrepreneurs from across Colombia to catalyze new investment into innovative startups.
Barranquilla, Colombia – June 7, 2024 - From May 20 to 23, the power and potential of migrant-lens investing was on display in Barranquilla, Colombia during innPact Week. The event, brought together more than 15 angel investors, venture capital funds, and impact-focused entities to activate connections, business deals and foster understanding about entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic integration.
innPact Week is the first event focused on impact-driven entrepreneurship with a migrant perspective in the city. This initiative, organized by Five One Labs, an international startup incubator, in partnership with the Oportunidades Sin Fronteras project from USAID, aims to promote entrepreneurship with a migrant focus and foster innovation. The event fostered conversations on integration and offers significant investment opportunities for the country’s business ecosystem.
The event also aimed at empowering migrant entrepreneurs and celebrating diversity and innovation in the startup space, attracted a dynamic mix of 13 top migrant-lens startups from across Colombia to connect with investors.
The three-day event featured an array of activities designed to connect and inspire attendees. Highlights included intensive training sessions, mentorship opportunities, and a high-stakes pitch contest where migrant-lens startups showcased their startups. The pitch contest concluded with two exceptional winners, Retorna and Motopack, each receiving $5,000 in funding to propel their businesses forward. Inspired by the dynamism of the startups, investors decided to also bid on outstanding startups, including Wawa, Acreditta, and Muta.
"We are incredibly grateful for the enthusiastic support from our community and partners," said Alice Bosley, Executive Director and Co-Founder at Five One Labs. "Inn-Pact Week was a resounding success, highlighting the resilience and innovation of migrant entrepreneurs in Colombia. The connections, learnings and enthusiasm from this event will undoubtedly catalyze further growth and impact in the entrepreneurial and startup investment ecosystem."
Participants had the unique opportunity to network with angel investors and venture capitalists, gaining invaluable insights and forging connections that are critical for business growth. The event also served as a platform for sharing inspiring stories of innovation and promising business opportunities among migrant-lens startups with global investors.
To view more of Five One Lab’s content, please visit Five One Lab’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn accounts.
About Five One Labs
Five One Labs is a startup incubator that empowers a new generation of refugee and conflict-affected entrepreneurs to create sustainable livelihoods. Five One Labs participants enter a three-month long incubation program that includes training, mentorship, an inclusive community, and the opportunity to compete for seed funding at the end of the program.
About USAID:
USAID is the U.S. Agency for International Development. In Colombia, it supports government efforts to reduce threats to biodiversity and ecosystems and to strengthen environmental governance in order to conserve protected areas and ethnic territories. The Oportunidades Sin Fronteras project is part of this initiative, aiming to strengthen entrepreneurship as an economic and social integration alternative in migrant and host communities.